Cincinnati Man Found with 13,000 Child Pornography Images, 6,000 Videos on His Computer

CINCINNATI—Michael Lewis Bohannon, 52, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography after task force investigators found more than 13,000 images and 6,000 videos of child pornography on his computer.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Division (FBI); Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis; and Cincinnati Interim Police Chief Michael Cureton, announced the pleas entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith.

According to a statement of facts filed with the guilty pleas, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Regional Electronics Computer Investigations (RECI) task force was patrolling the Internet in December 2010 and connected with Bohannon through a peer-to-peer file-sharing service, locating 41 files of likely child pornography and comparing them with a list of known child pornography files maintained in a database by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Bohannon’s home in January 2011 and seized a computer. Forensic examination of the computer uncovered more than 13,000 images and 6,000 videos of child pornography. Agents arrested Bohannon. He has been in custody since his arrest.

Bohannon was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in 2005 and served 40 months in prison. Because of his prior conviction, he faces at least 15 years in prison. The plea agreement contains a recommended sentence of 210 months in prison. Judge Beckwith will review the plea agreement and decide whether or not to accept the agreed-to sentence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by RECI investigators and FBI agents, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy, who is prosecuting the case.